NEWS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Kent, President/CEO, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
619-226-3870
MAJOR GIFT TO HUBBS-SEAWORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE TO ESTABLISH
THE DICK LAUB FISHERIES REPLENISHMENT PROGRAM
San Diego, CA (March 16, 2015) - Dorothea Laub, wife of the late, long-time angler Dick Laub, has committed
$900,000 to Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) to announce the establishment of the Dick Laub
Fisheries Replenishment Program.
The Program will serve as a centerpiece to restore recreational nearshore fisheries. The Laub memorial gift will
propel the technical, feasibility and regulatory phases of the Program, the desired outcomes of which are fish
culture refinement, and juvenile fish pilot production and release, leading up to final program implementation.
The Ocean Resources Enhancement Hatchery Program (OREHP) is one of HSWRI’s conservation research
programs that was designed in collaboration with southern California recreational anglers, under the auspices
of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, to specifically counteract the alarming decline of certain vital
marine fish stocks. Since 1983, HSWRI scientists and their collaborators have developed culture techniques to rear
and release white seabass, a commercially and recreationally important coastal marine fish species. Volunteer
anglers contribute more than 20,000 hours annually to support the juvenile fish at grow-out facilities. Now that
white seabass stocks are recovering, anglers are looking at additional species that may benefit from the decades of
culture experience learned through OREHP.
With several years of support from Chevron Corporation, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute’s scientists have
already been investigating additional species such as yellowtail and halibut that might fit into OREHP’s mission. In
2014, an anonymous angler made a generous donation which served as the catalyst for HSWRI to explore the
potential for additional species and a multi-year campaign was initiated. Momentum was gained with recent
donations from AFTCO, Frank LoPreste and his partners in Fisherman's, Pt. Loma, Seaforth and H&M Landings,
and Sempra Energy.
Concurrent with this new initiative, California’s recreational angling community has become organized under the
umbrella of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), a nation-wide, state-driven, recreational fishing advocacy
organization. A new CCA-California Chapter was recently formed and has chosen the Dick Laub Fisheries
Replenishment Program as its first priority after incorporation.
The species to be focused on by this larger enhancement program are still under discussion between the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife, the marine science community and recreational anglers. With the creation of
CCA-California, the Dick Laub Fisheries Replenishment Program will enjoy additional support from the
angler community but matching gifts and advocacy will still be needed over several years from philanthropic
partners. For more information, please contact Eileen Sigler, HSWRI’s Development Director, at 619-226-3881 or
visit www.hswri.org/donate-now.
HSWRI is a nonprofit research foundation established in 1963, dedicated to studying the world’s natural resources, with an
emphasis to find sea life solutions to mitigate human impacts on marine and coastal environments. Through a commitment
to innovative scientific research, the Institute contributes to the understanding and conservation of the marine world.
www.hswri.org
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